Pandowdy

[Marlene]

I'd like to attempt a pandowdy recipe this weekend. The recipe calls for a combination of apples such as Rome Beauty, Empire and Courtland. Needless to say, I could not find any of these in the stores here. What I did find were Braeburns, Gala's and Granny Smiths. I think there were Royals too.

So my first question is, which, if any of these apples should I be using? Or what combination thereof?

And what the heck is "sanding sugar"?

[russ parsons]

sounds like a great old recipe. most of the apple varieties we get these days are southern hemisphere--even in new york, once a great apple capitol. things like galas and braeburns. i've found that in most cases, a well-grown apple of any variety will work. one of my absolute favorite cooking apples is a golden delicious! (of course, you have to get them when they're golden, not green). the sole exception is a red delicious which is a mutated piece of garbage designed only to tempt people who only buy red. i'm not sure where you are, but here in california we are getting a relatively new variety called the pink lady that, when properly grown, is absolutely superb--crisp and winey, sweet and tart. it's got everything. and it cooks well.

sanding sugar is superfine sugar.

[Apicio]

Not one of the three suggested in the recipe is a pie apple so I guess that’s your license to use any variety that's available (and cheap). But as Russ mentioned, avoid red delicious and I’ll add to that royal gala because its eating out of hand qualities just disappears in cooking. Bagged apples are the cheapest but I notice you’re from Ontario like I am so you’re probably close to a farmer’s stand or market where you can buy them by the basket.

Edited September 16, 2005 by Apicio (log)

[slkinsey]

I am also reliably informed that shoe fly pie makes a suitable accompaniment for apple pan dowdy. Guaranteed to make your eyes light up and your stomach say "howdy."

Sorry . . . couldn't resist.

[Marlene]

Hmph. Apple-Raisin Pandowdy

[ludja]

Hmph.  Apple-Raisin Pandowdy

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Thanks for posting the recipe, Marlene. Interested to hear how it turns out... (having not made or eaten a pandowdy to date)

[Marlene]

Here's the Pandowdy.

The apple-raisin mixture

With the toasted pecan dough, before baking:

Finished. I probably could have smooshed the crust in a bit more, but it was fine.

[Apicio]

So, what apple varieties did you end up using? Did you take pics when you sliced it? Would you bake the recipe again as is or you would adjust a few things? Inquiring minds want to know.

[Marlene]

By the time we sliced it, I wasn't really in any state to take pictures.

For apples I used Braeburn and I had to use a couple of galas because I didn't buy enough braeburns.

The recipe was fine as directed. I'd bake this again as is, and in fact I probably will for Thanksgiving this year.

[helenjp]

So has anybody made a pandowdy in the past 4 years?

I was surprised to see a pastry rather than a biscuit topping...is a sweet biscuit topping the way to go? (That's what's in my mother's old Betty Crocker book, her window into the American food world).

What about the apples? Caramel-y brown sugar is what I remember, but what about honey, molasses, raisins, dates...and heck, what about whisky or rum, in this weather?

The Betty Crocker recipe is under Fresh Fruit Cobbler, and is covered with a "shortcake" spooned over the apples and baked at 400F:

1 c flour

1 T sugar

1.5 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

3 T shortening

1/3 to 1/2 c milk

The New Settlement recipe is for a much plainer batter poured over the apples and baked at 350F:

1 c flour

1/4 c sugar

pinch salt

1/2 c melted butter

1 c milk

Compare and contrast, folks!

[mgaretz]

sanding sugar is superfine sugar.

Actually sanding sugar is just the opposite. It's very coarse sugar used primarily as a topping and decoration (it's also known as coarse and decorating sugar). Colored sugar is the same, but with food coloring added.

[helenjp]

I think the pandowdy concept may have fallen by the wayside! I used some apples I had mulled with some red wine yesterday, added a little more red wine, juice and zest of an orange, a few more apples and some raisins, simmered that till mostly cooked, thickened it slightly, and topped it with a biscuit dough warmed with just a little cinnamon, to underline the "mulled wine" flavors.

It was good, but it might have been better to use black pepper in the dough and park the cinnamon in with the apple.

[djyee100]

So has anybody made a pandowdy in the past 4 years?

Someone I know baked an apple pandowdy 7 or 8 years ago, and raved about it to me, so I've kept it at the back of my mind as something I would like to make. But I haven't gotten to it yet. Too many other good recipes to try out.

A few months ago I was reading Richard Sax's Classic Home Desserts and found a good-sounding recipe for Pear Pandowdy. Sax prefers a pastry crust to biscuit, because the pastry will bake up crisper than biscuit after it's been dunked in fruit juices. The recipe and a short history of pandowdy is available on Googlebooks, Pages 50-51. Here:

[andiesenji]

I've made this version of pandowdy from Martha Stewart two or three times.

It is closer to the version I knew as a child than some others.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/apple-pandowdy

The only significant difference is that when I was a child, the apples and other ingredients were cooked on top of the stove in a cast iron skillet, then the top was dotted with the pastry and put into the rather hot oven, so the pastry on top would bake and crisp.

It was removed from the oven and while still hot, slices of cheddar cheese were applied to the top. I happen to like it finished with cream cheese instead, but both are good.

I use a combination of Jonagold and Macintosh.

Edited February 2, 2010 by andiesenji (log)

[helenjp]

So the Martha Stewart recipe topping works out as:

1 c flour

1.5 sticks (170 g) butter

pinch salt

3 T ice water

Oven 425F

The picture shows pieces of dough...that's just what I associate with a pandowdy, a patchwork or scattering of pieces of dough, with or without gaps.

My recipes are also stove-top for the apples, oven for the pastry.